Jordan Times
Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Arab Millennium Development Goals report to be launched in March
Jordan on track in meeting target of achieving universal primary education by 2015

By Dalya Dajani

“The Millennium Development Goals in Arab Countries — Towards 2015: Achievements and Aspirations” will provide an overview of advancements and remaining challenges facing the region in achieving eight time-bound goals that encapsulate people's basic aspirations for a better life, a UNDP statement said Tuesday.

By committing themselves to the MDGs, countries agreed to: Halve income poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education for all girls and boys; promote gender equality and reduce by two-thirds a child's risk of dying before the age of five; reduce by three-quarters a woman's risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes; protect the ecosystem; and ensure that developed countries grant more aid, fairer trade and steeper debt relief.

According to the UNDP, Arab countries have made significant progress in human development over the last few decades, with increases in life expectancy rates and reduction in child and maternal mortality rates. Illiteracy for both men and women has also fallen, while more people enjoy access to safe water and sanitation.

New infrastructure has allowed 83 per cent of the population to have access to safe water, while sanitation networks spread to 87 per cent of the urban population.

But maternal mortality remained high at 500 per 100,000 live births, while the proportion of undernourished people did not see any significant decline.

The report also shows that progress began to falter in the 1990s. The proportion of children in primary school stalled at around 80 per cent, while the ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary schools inched upward only slowly.

In terms of gender equality, women's participation in public life remains weak with less than five per cent of the seats in Arab legislatures claimed by women.

Many countries face the prospects of growing water shortages in the future.

Indications from Jordan

One welcoming sign for the Kingdom, as shown in the report, found that given the steady progress made between 1990-2000, Jordan was among 6 out of 13 countries in the region that are on track in meeting the target of achieving universal primary education by the year 2015.

Jordan — along with Qatar — stood out as having achieved high primary enrolment rates, with over 90 per cent of children attending primary school. Jordan spent five per cent of its GDP and 20 per cent of its total expenditure on education in 1999 and has since maintained high investments in ensuring quality education for its population. In combating the global ill of poverty, the report shows that Jordan, along with Egypt, fared positively in reducing income poverty between 1991 and 1997 compared to other countries in the region.

Jordan also fared well in terms of improvements in maternal health with maternal mortality rates per 100,000 live births standing at near zero, similar to Gulf nations such as the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

In terms of progress in reducing under-five child mortality rates between 1990 and 2000, Jordan remains lagging along with countries such as Yemen, Sudan and Somalia.

According to the UNDP report, progress has been uneven across countries, with numerous challenges ahead in meeting the targets by 2015. For example, about 10 million children still do not go to school, and even though women's access to education has tripled since 1970, gender disparities persist. Forty per cent of adults are unable to read, while over half of women remain illiterate.

Looking towards 2015, the report stresses that the Arab states and their international partners will have to exert additional efforts if the targets are to be achieved. Progress will have to accelerate and commitments will need to be renewed if the promises that were made at the millennium summit are to be kept, the report said.

Back to January 21, 2004